Coupling



L. RICEFIELD 2,301,659

COUPLING Nov. 10, 1942..

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 21, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 L. RlCEFlELD COUPLING Filed June 21, 1941 Nov. 10, 1942.

INVENTOR.

Louis Rare/field BGYZMIIM [W I I 67775.

Patented Nov. 10, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

movable parts, such as coupling members secured The present application is a continuation in part of my co- 325,324, filed 40 members made 30 est power impulses of a fluctuating load, thereby dimensions, Weight, flywheel-effect and cost per- 50 missible.

When made of rubber, the power transmitting transmitting members, made of construction,

' ing coupling often require v shafts, in all couplings so anchoring the shafts to 7 internal heat 2 reduced their thickness and therefore their specific deformability to a point where they are unable to affect the elastic torsional deflection of the connected shafts. If the specific pressure on rubber be held to a very low value, the couplings become very large and In order to increase the specific pressure applicable to the power transmitting members, and thereby reduce the dimensions of the couplings, rubber is now being used in laminations bonded between laminations of fabric, possessing greater resistance to abrasion by friction on the jaw surpossessing a slight amount of resilient deformability. Power transmitting members made of such laminations of rubber and fabric, bonded together into integral bodies, may safely be subjected to greater pressure under a uniform power than rubber alone could be, but if the transmitted power is fluctuating; a disintegration develops in the laminations, until all fabric will have disappeared between the rubber laminations at the outer ends of thepower transmitting members where the relative torsional movement of the jaw faces is the greatest. From that point on,

the rubber begin to tear of, bringing about the complete destruction of the power transmitting members, often before the outer laminations of fabric have been at all affected by surface friction on thejaw faces. This failure of the rubber laminations occurs at fluctuating loads even the maximum of these loads is less than that applicable to solid rubber bodies. fhus, this form of power transmitting member also requires low specific pressure and therefore large coupling dimensions;

In some other types of couplings, wherein the desirable qualities of rubber for the'transmission'of fluctuating power are utilized, the power rubber, are freed from the destructive effect of surface friction on with the coacting jaws of the. coupling bodies, either by being directly bonded to these jaw faces thereto indirectly, such as by riveting or d tailingistructurally strong cover plates bonded to the power transmitting surfaces of the rubber members. Power transmitting members of this however, also fail to yield a sufficiently long service life in proportion transmitted.

All of these forms, in contrast with those first discussed, eliminate relative movement between the power transmitting members and the coactby anchoring each other longitudinally of their axis.

Since, however, angular misalignment of the shafts always requ'res a certain amount of longitudinal displacement of the jaws, and certain types of machinery such as electric generators free endwise movement of their the power effortsof the shafts to oscillate longitudinally with respect Thus, while eliminating surface friction, this construction introduces fluctuating shearing'stresses which, in addition to being destructive to rubber because of they generate, also impede a very essential functionof misaligned shafts, namely, their free longitudinal adjustment tion. 7

' Whereas, under uniform load, the power transthe shafts to i;

to the power be formed of extent and frequency with the power transmitted.

This process of a corresponding parts composing power transmitting members, and by recurrent elongation and contraction of these parts in directions transverse to the transmitted power. While this internal labor of deformation, because of its destructiveness, is in itself accelerating a reduction in thickness of the power transmitting members, its effect is additionally detrimental to that capacity req ired of them when transmitting fluctuating powe which is that their deformability shall be a fixed transmitted. Since any permanent reduction in thickness reduces the deformability of a given material, power transmitting members subjected to such reduction will very rapidly fail to eliminate vibration, even while still capable of compensating for a' misalignment of the shafts while transmitting power.

The present invention has for its purpose to provide power transmitting members which will retain their deformability'as a substantially fixed function of the deforming force, regardless of the extent and frequency of variations of this force.

This is accomplished by the elimination of friction on the outer surfaces of the deformable parts of the power transmitting members, and particularly by a reduction of the internal labor of deformation to a value within the capacity of the material forming the deformable parts.

More particularly, the present invention involves the discovery that compressive stresses may be more efficiently transmitted in couplings andother devices mitting member made up of a plurality of laminations bonded together and formed of different materials, some of which are resiliently deformable while others are hard and substantially incompressible or non-deformable. The resilient deformable laminations may be formed of rubber, or other like materials, and the substantially incompressible and nondeformable laminations, while not strictly having these characteristics to the last degree, are structurally strong and may such materials as hard rubber, spring steel or layers of cotton fabric impregnated with a synthetic resin such as Textolite and other like materials capable of being bonded over their entire contacting surfaces with the adjacent deformable laminations, anchoring these into a fixed relationship, and being strong enough to retain their capacity of anchoring the deformable laminations throughout their entire power transmitting surfaces. The hard and substantially incompressible laminations may be the outer laminations, one face of which contacts directly with the jaws of the coupling members where they perform the function of withstanding frictional wear under relative sliding movements, while at the other face anchoring the intermediate resilient and deformable laminations which not only transmit the load but permit such distortion of the power transmitting member as In alaininated construction of the type just the outer. cushioning laminations of resilient referred to, the resilient deformablelaminations deformable material.

act as columns extending in the directions which When the coupling of the present invention is forces are transmitted and since their end surused under a fluctuating load and it is desirable faces are bonded over their entire areas to he 5 to intercept power impulses uninterruptedly farif the laminations were loosely assembled. The of reduction under compression of the lamlnations action, and these tensile stresses may greatly minimum value of the pressure applied will replurality of short columns fixed at their ends, pressure, it follows that if the power transmitting by reducing the torsional resiliency required of be less than it would be if they were continuously the coupling The hard or substantially incomdeformed from a free unloaded state An added pressible laminations thus perform the function advantage of this pre-compression is also in the of anchoring the ends of the intermediate deassurance that the power will always flow fiom laminations contact directly with the jaw faces, dium, regardless of its direction or magnitude.

age for the deformable laminations, it is theremember may be wedged into place between the to their bonding surfaces. While steel or other resultant increase in the life of the member. A metals possess both the strength and the capacity power transmitting member of this type may be for strongly bonding to rubber, their coeflicient readily put in place and may be constructed to thetic resin. Hard laminations formed of such mg the life of the coupling, the present inventhose of metals. tial elimination of vibrations through the dampcompression and thus greatly increases the dyc mpa y n aw gs in which several emnamic load applicable, without thereby afiecting bodiments of the invention as applied to couthe requisite funct ons of the couplin plings, are illustrated. In the drawings If the power transmitting members are of such Figure 1 Shows a side elevation of one form thickness as to ba equal to or less than he ga of coupling embodying the features of the piesent between adJacent opposed Jaw faces t Outer invention where the power transmitting mem lammatwns of the power transmlttmg members bers are sub ected to an initial compression when may preferably be formed as thin layers of resilh ar e mterposed between the J 0f the 0 ient compressible material such as rubber, parphng mem ers part of the annular Tetalnlng ticularly when a reversing load is being transmelflber of thls devlce being broken aw y muted Under those condltmns the power 2 fggo 1 2 shows a sectional view taken on the line transmitting members are reduced in thickness under the influence of the load transmitted so m 3%? 25 sectional VIEW taken on the 11119 that gaps are produced between the inactive faces Fig. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional VIEW of the aws and the power transmitting members similar to tha of Flg 2, showmg one of the and these gaps are closed upon reduction or repower transmlttmg members removed and m versal of load, thereby producing an objectionsition to be driven into Wedging engagement with able slapping noise except for the presence of two opposed jaw faces;

Fig. is a perspective View of'one of the power transmitting members embodied in the form of construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of another form of power transmitting member which is adapted to 5 when they are placed in position between the jaws of the coupling members;

Fig. 9 shows a sectional view taken on the line 9- -9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a partial side elevation of the coupling shown in Figs. 8 and method of assembly of the device;

Fig. 11 is a partial enlarged sectional view similar to that of Fig. 9, showing a spider similar tothat of Fig. 9 but adapted to have a predetermined limited deformation;

Fig. 11 is a partial sectional view, similar to that of Fig.11, showing a modified form of con struction in which a greater number of laminations are embodied in the construction of each nular recess formed in the disk iit of the other spider arm;

Fig. 12 shows a side elevation of another form of coupling embodying the features of the present invention where the power transmitting members are capable of being inserted freely between the jaws of the opposite coupling members without any initial compression, the power transmitting members being provided on their outer jaw-engaging faces with laminations of resilient deformable material;

Fig. 13 shows a sectional .view taken on the line iii-13 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 shows a sectional view line i i-44 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 shows a perspective view of a modified taken on the form of power transmitting member adapted to form of construction shown in Figs. 12 to 14, inclusive, where the outer layers of the power transmitting member are formed of resilient deformable material; I

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of another form of power transmitting member adapted to be used with the form of construction illustrated in Figs. 12 to 14, inclusive, where the extent of compression of the power transmitting member is limited by the engagement of laminations which are hard and substantially incompressible;

Fig. 1'7 is a side elevation, similar to that of Fig. 8, showing another form of the invention wherein the power members are formed as the arms of a spider and where these so arms are not subjected to initial compression when they are placed between the jaws of the coupling members;

Fig. 18 shows a vertical section taken on the line Iii-l8 of Fig. 1'7; and

Fig. 19 is a sectional view similar to that of Fig. 18 showing the conditions of the parts when the spider arms are subjected to compression by the transmission of power through the coupling.

In Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the invention is shown 40 as being embodied in a coupling comprising two metal coupling members 15 and 15 which are adapted to be secured upon substantially aligned shafts l1 and 18, respectively, by means of keys 19. The coupling member l5 has a hub portion 9, illustrating the 20 members 26 fe which is secured upon the shaft and a radi- 0 tween them the power transmitting members 29 which are in the form of blocks of substantially rectangular cross section made up of a central lamination Eli and side laminations 28 The laminations 28 are provided with outer faces 20 which are adapted to contact with the faces 15 and Hi of the jaws carried by opposite coupling members. In the construction illustrated, the faces 20 on each block are parallel to each other and the faces i5 and lt carried by two opposed jaws are also parallel to each other.

The coupling member it has secured to the hub portion thereof a longitudinally extending extension 2! which is adapted to be engaged by the inner end faces 25 of the power transmitting for preventing radial inward displacement thereof. These members 20 are prevented from moving radially outward by an annular retaining ring 22 which is provided at one edge with an enlargement 22 seated in an ansate for angular misalignment and relative lateral displacement of the two shafts i! and I8 and also to allow for relative endwise movement of these shafts.

The power transmitting members Zil embody the improvements of the present invention which consist in making the central lamination 20 of resilient deformable material such as rubber or other like materials capable of being distorted and deformed and having the faculty of returning to their initial shapes when released, while forming the other outer laminations 28 of hard and substantially incompressible material. It is now preferred to form the laminations 29 of layers of cotton fabric or the like which are cemented together by and impregnated with a bonding material suchas a synthetic resin, several of which are on the market, two of them being known under the trade names of Micarta and Textolite. When the layers of fabrics are bonded together under compression and the resulting product hardens. it is very hard and substantially incompressible and the outer surfaces are quite smooth so that they offer little fric tional resistance to the parts with which they contact. The layers of fabric employed in the formation of the laminations Zil are preferably so arranged that they are parallel to the surfaces 23' and the laminations formed of the materials just referred to, or their equivalents, have the faculty that they may be secured by vulcanization to the intermediate lamination Zii formed of rubber or the like, the bond being as strong as the rubber itself, while the bond between the layers of fabric embodied in the hard laminations is great and the structure of the layers of fabric so strong as to withstand any shearing 2,301,659 stresses in the direction of these layers, as well layer 30 formed of rubber or the like, this interas any loosening of the bond between the fibers mediate layer being united, preferably, by vulforces which a fluctuating power may produce. are formed of hard and substantially incom- The laminations 20 and 20 may thus be secured 5 pressible material such as layers of cotton fabric together to form a unitary body which is subimpregnated with a synthetic resin or the like stantially indestructible except after long-conas described above, and secured together under tinued use. In forming a power transmitting pressure to form a hard, wear-resisting body. member 20, it is preferably so constructed that In this form, the outer layers 35t are provided at its opposite faces 20 are spaced apart a greater their outer edges with inwardly extending flanges distance than the normal distance between the 35 spaced apart, in the normal condition of the opposed faces and I6 of two coupling jaws member 36, by a gap 30 The outer layers 3t inner portions of the opposite faces of the 15 shown at 33 for the purpose heretofore dethey converge inwardly and their inner portions member 253. With the form of construction may be projected between the opposite jaw faces shown in Fig. 6, the flanges 30 at the outer mar- I5 and I6, as shown in Fig. 4. The member 2!] gins of the hard laminations 39 are adapted to may then be driven into place between the oppo- 20 engage each other after a predetermined comsite jaw faces by the use of a hammer or the pression and distortion of the intermediate layer like, thus wedging the member 20 into its oper- 39 whereupon the forces being transmitted are ating position and causing an initial deformation transmitted directly from one outer lamination of the intermediate lamination 29 so that the 36 to the other lamination 38 without further parts of each member 20 are under compression compression or distortion of the intermediate even when there is no load on the coupling. In layer 39*.

assembling the parts of the coupling, the two In Fig. 7 of the drawings, there is shown still coupling members [5 and is are first put together another form of power transmitting member 33 with their jaws intermeshing loosely with each comprising a considerable number of laininations other and with the annular retaining ring 22 30 iii-eluding two outer laminations 2'33 formed prefremoved and then, after driving the member 29 erably of layers of cotton fabric cemented tointo place, the ring 22 may be attached to the gether by and impregnated with asynthetic resin coupling member (6. or the like to form hard, substantially incom- By means of the foregoing construction, it will pressible bodies, and a plurality of intermediate be apparent that apower transmitting member laminations 33 and 33 which are secured to is provided having hard .and substantially each other and to the laminations 33 by vulsmooth opposed faces 20 which permits it to canization or the like. The laminations 33 are be driven into place between the jaw faces, in formed preferably of rubber and the laminations the manner shown in Fig, 4, which is an oper- 33 may be formed of spring steel or of the same ation not capable of being carried out with power i matei ial as the laminations 3%, all possessing the transmitting members formed of rubber or other quality of providing an indestructibly fixed ansimilar resilient and deformable materials. The chorage for the laminations 35 The outer lamilaminations 29' are substantially hard and innations 33 are beveled at theii inner dges as compressible so that they may be driven with a shown at 33 and also at their lateral edges as hammer without injury and when they are in shown at 33 to facilitate the driving of the power place they provide hard wear-resisting surfaces transmitting members between the jaws of op engaging the jaw faces [5 and IS. The wearposed coupling members such as shown in Figs. resisting faces 20 of these members, in addition 1 to 5, inclusive. to being tapered at their inner ends, may also be In Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the drawings, there beveled at their opposite downwardly extending is illustrated a modified form of the invention edges to facilitate their insertion, as shown at 20 comprising two coupling members 35 and 36 in. Figs 1 to 5 It has been found that the life w ich are secured to a pair of substantially of power transmitting members of this form is aligned shafts 37 and 38 respectively, by means greatly increased by this initial compression of of keys 09 These coupling members have hub the intermediate lamination and by the transfer portions 35 and 36 respectively, which are of surface friction from the deformable Darts to formed integrally with radially extending disks the wear-resisting outer laminations of the power 35 and 36 provided with integral longitudinally transmitting member. In addition, the vibraextending jaws 35 and 35, respectively. These tion in connected mechanisms is greatly reduced jaws intermesh loosely with each other and are by employing a power transmitting member adapted to receivebetween them power transmitwhich, because of its composite construction, can ting members 40 which are formed as the radibe provided with such natural frequ ncy of ating arms of a power transmitting spider 4B. deformation as the transmitted power requires The intermediate portions 46 of the spider arms and can retain this virtually unimpaired by sur- 48 are formed of rubber or the like and they are face friction and by internal labor of deformaunited with the corresponding parts of adjacent tion, while sustaining a heavier load than would arms 40 by outer laminations 40 which are vulbe possible if rubber vtere used alone throughout canized or otherwise secured to intermediate the entire bodies 01. the power transmitting memlaminations 40 so that the adjacent arms Mi ers are connected with each other by this continuous In Fig. 6' of the drawings there is shown a integral member extending between adjacent modified form of power transmitting member 30 spider arms, the intermediate connecting porwhich may be employed in con unction with the tions 46 of these outer laminations extending other features of coupling construction illusbetween the inner ends or adjacent pa ts 46 trated in Figs 1 to 5 inclusive The power trans- In the embodlment illustrated, the arms 40 are mitting member 30 comprises an intermediate constructed so that they increase gradually in thickness, measured circumferentially of the spider, from their inner ends outwardly, and they may be so proportioned as to cause substantially uniform compressive stresses to be set up in all parts of the spider arm when the coupling is under load, as explained in certain of my prior patents above mentioned, but the laminated type of construction illustrated may also be utilized for limiting the deformation of the spider arms after a predetermined load has been put upon the coupling. This is accomplished by forming the outer laminations id of the spider arm of hard and substantially incompressible materials such as layers of fabric united with each other and impregnated with a synthetic resin or other equivalent material which provides a lamination having great wear-resisting qualities and the advantage that it may be'united with the intervening layer 40 of rubber or the like by vulcanization, so that a unitary spider arm construction is provided.

When thus formed, the effect of a load being transmitted to the coupling from the jaws of one coupling member to the aws of the other coupling member is to deform the intermediate laminations 46 of the spider arm and to force the materials of these layers outwardly, as shown in Fig. 11, until the outer hard layers 48 of the power transmitting surfaces of the spider arms are substantially in contact with each other, thus preventing any further substantial compression of the spider arms, which is an advantage under many conditions of use.

In Fig. 10, there is shownthe method of assembly of the form of coupling shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 11. tions Mi of the spider arms are beveled in a general radial direction as shown at Ml, thus decreasing the width of the surfaces M which contact with the faces of the jaws 35 and 36, the latter faces being constructed to conform sub As there illustrated, the outer laminastantially to the curvature of the faces of the laminations MN. The jaws 36 of one coupling member have their lateral faces beveled also, as shown at 365 and the construction is such that after the spider has been put in place in one coupling member 35, as shown in Fig. 10, the spaced faces of two opposite spider arms are then closer together than the distance between the opposite faces of one jaw 36 carried by the other coupling member, so that when the last-mentioned cour pling member 36 is moved endwise it is necessary to wedge the jaws 36 between the faces it of the spider arms, thus setting up an initial compression in the intermediate laminations 46* which may cause them to be deformed and to bow outwardly toward the disks and 36 of the coupling members, as shown at 40 in Fig. 8.

In Fig. 11 of the drawings there is shown a modified form of spider adapted to be used with the coupling members shown in Figs. 8, 9, l0 and 11. In this modified form, the spider arms are formed of a plurality of laminations of rubber combined with a plurality of other laminations which are substantially incompressible or nondeformable, thus illustrating the possibility of ob- .7

taining in a spider, as well as in individual power and deformability by varying the number, thickness, resiliency and deformability of the laminations. In this form, the spider M comprises a plurality of radiating arms M each made up of a central lamination N and two other laminations M formed of rubber, which are bonded over their contacting surfaces with other laminations M and M formed of hard material of The laminations M are formed as projections on the central hub portion M and the laminations M and M are continuous between adjacent spider arms as in the form just described.

In Figs. 12, 13 and 14 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modification of the invention which is generally similar to the form shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, except that the parts are so proportioned that the power transmitting members are not under compression when there is no load on the coupling and that these members are provided on their outer sides with comparatively thin layers of resilient deformable material which contact directly with the faces of the jaws. this modified form, the coupling comprises two metal coupling members 45 and 45 which are secured upon substantially aligned shafts 41 and 48, respectively, by means of k The coupling member 45 comprises a hub portion 45 secured upon the shaft and a radially extending disk portion 45* which is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending jaws 45 adapted to intermesh loosely with a plurality of other similar longitudinally extending jaws 46 extending longitudinally from the disk portion 46 which is carried by the hub portion 45 of the other coupling member. These longitudinally extending jaws 55 and 46 are spaced apart to receive between them the power transmitting members 50 which are in the form of blocks of substantially rectangular cross section, each made upof a plurality of laminations including a central lamination 59*, two intermediate laminations 50 and two outer laminations 50. The intermediate laminations 50 of each power transmitting member 50 is formed of resilient deformable material such as rubber or the like, and the two intermediate laminations 50 are formed preferably of layers of fabric secured together by and. impregnated with a synthetic resin or the like so that they are hard and substantially incompressible, thereby forming anchoring bases for the contacting faces of the intermediate lamination M which is bonded thereto over the entire areas of these faces. The outer laminations 56 are comparatively thin and are formed preferably of rubber or the like so that they have a cushioning effect and are adapted to prevent undesirable noise when the coupling is used with a reversing or fluctuating load, under which conditions the gaps between certain faces of the power transmitting members and certain faces of the jaws are periodically closed up during the reversal of the load. In the embodiment illustrated, the jaw engaging faces of the outer laminations 56 of each power transmitting member are parallel to each other and the jaw faces which are engaged thereby also have a parallel relationship.

As in the form of the invention firstdescrioed, the coupling member Q5 has secured to the hub portion thereof a longitudinal extension 5i which is adapted to be engaged by the inner end faces 56 of the power transmitting members for preventing radial inward displacement thereof. The members 53 are prevented from moving radially outward by an annular retaining ring 52 which is provided at one edge with an annular enlargement 52 seated in an annular recess formed in the disk portion it of the coupling member 4'5. This annular ring is secured in place by a series of washers 5% which overlie the part 52* of the retaining ring and which are held in place by studs 53 which engage threaded apertures in the disk portion of the coupling member. In this the direction in which forces are transmitted, is 11 In this ment of the shafts, have the advantage that they 30 the embodiment shown The power transmitting member 55 comprises a plurality of lay- 40 of other laminations 55 which are hard and relatively incompressible and which are pref- 45 erably formed in the manner heretofore described, that is, by cementing together and imling stresses of the resilient deformable laminam are adapted to contact difaces. This form also is able material which rectly with the jaw adapted primarily for use in the modification of 70 the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 12

to 14, inclusive, and it comprises a central lamitwo intermediate laminations 51 The intermedination 51 and two outer laminations 51.

ate lamination 57 is formed of resilient deform- J are not under compression 1.;

areas. provided with shoulders 5! power transmitting members I0 which are formed as the radiating arms of a power transmitting spider 10. The intermediate portions 79 of the spider of adjacent arms which are vulcanized or otherwise secured to the intermediate laminations 10*. adjacent arms 10 are connected with each other inner ends outwardly, and they may be so prostantially incompressible laminations described above.

The thickness of the spider arms measured circumferentially of the coupling is such that they may be readily inserted between the jaws of opposite coupling members without any additional compression, following the method of assembly which has heretofore been explained in connection with the form of construction shown in Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive. When thus assembled, the intermediate laminations it which are formed of relatively soft resilient and deformable material, such as rubber, are not initially deformed and assume their normal shapes. In the embodiment illustrated, the thickness of the spider arms, measured circumferentially, is such as to occupy all of the space between adjacent jaws of opposite coupling members when there is no load on the coupling. When a load is applied, the intermediate laminations Hi of alternate spider arms are compressed so that they bulge outwardly, as

shown at 19 in Fig. 19. During this compression, these intermediate laminations act as columns with their end faces attached over their entire to the relatively hard and incompressible Hi which, although substantially incompressible, should have sufficient flexibility to adjust themselves to the compression and deformation of the intermediate laminations 10 In an extreme condition of the compression of the intermediate laminations 1B, the laminations 18 of adjacent spider arms will be moved substantially into contact with each other, thus preventing any further substantial compression of the spider arms.

In each form of the invention, there is attained the advantage of the use in each power transmitting member of one or more resilient deformable laminations which act as columns with their end faces attached to relatively hard and incompressible anchoring laminations so that the lateral bending or buckling of the resilient deformable laminations under compression is limited and the wear caused by tension due to buckling and by internal friction is substantially reduced. At the same time, these laminations have the quality of restricting frictional wear caused by their contact with the metallic jaws of the coupling members and they adjust themselves automatically to the load on the coupling so that, except in the cases of fluctuating and reversing loads, each power transmitting member normally maintains a contact with two opposite jaws carried by opposite coupling members. These advantages may be gained with or without the advantage of an initial compression of the power transmitting members when they are inserted between the jaws, which initial compression will then maintain the contact between the power transmitting members and the jaws even when the load is fluctuating or reversing in character. The improvements herein described are applicable to couplings having other forms of jaw surfaces and other forms of spiders or other power transmitting members such as those in which the opposite jaw engaging faces of each spider arm are parallel to each other or have some other relative arrangement not herein shown in detail.

The forms of the invention shown in Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive, and in Figs. 12 to 14, inclusive, are claimed specifically in my copending divisional application Ser. No. 423,612, filed December 19, 1941.

Although several forms of the invention have been shown and described by way of illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed in various other embodiments which come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination in a coupling for connecting substantially aligned shafts and permitting free relative endwise movement thereof, of a pair of coupling members each adapted to be secured upon a separate one of said shafts, each of said coupling members comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending jaws adapted to intermesh loosely with the jaws of the other coupling member, and a plurality of power transmitting members each interposed between two jaws carried by opposite coupling members, each of said power transmitting members comprising a plurality of laminations bonded together to form, a block, including an intermediate lamination formed of resilient deformable material, other laminations located on the outer sides of said intermediate lamination and formed of hard non-deformable material, and other laminations formed of resilient deformable material and forming the outer sides of said block.

2. The combination in a coupling for connecting substantially aligned shafts'and permitting relative endwise movement and relative angular displacement of said shafts, of a pair of coupling adapted to be secured upon a separate one of said shafts, each of said coupling members comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending jaws adapted to intermesh loosely with the jaws of the other coupling member, and a plurality of power transmitting members each interposed between two jaws carried by opposite coupling members, each of said power transmitting members being made up of a plurality of deformable and non-deformable laminations so bonded to each other as to produce a fixed anchorage of the deformable laminations over their power transmitting surfaces with the contacting non-deformable laminations, each of said power transmitting members being made up of a plurality of laminations including an intermediate lamination formed of resilient deformable material, other intermediate laminations formed of hard, substantially non-deformable material, and outer laminations formed of relatively thin layers of resilient deformable material.

3. A power transmitting member adapted to be interposed between relatively movable machine parts, comprising a plurality of laminations bonded together to form a block, an intermediate lamination being formed of resilient, deformable material, the other laminations being formed of hard, substantially non-deformable material and having their outer surfaces beveled at one end of the block.

4. A power transmitting member adapted to be interposed between relatively movable machine parts, comprising a plurality of laminations bonded together to form a block, an intermediate lamination being formed of resilient, deformable material, the other laminations being formed of hard, substantially non-deformable material and having their outer surfaces beveled at one end along both lateral edges of the block.

5. The combination in a coupling for connecting substantially free relative endwise movement thereof, of a pair of coupling members each adapted to be secured upon a separate one of said shafts, each of said coupling members comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending jaws adapted to intermesh l s ly wi h h j ws of the other c upling memhaving opposite inwardly extending parts opposed ber, and a plurality of power transmitting mem; to each other to limit the deformation of that bers each interposed between two jaws carried power transmitting member.

e combination in a coupling for connectmitting members being formed of laminations ing substantially aligned shafts and permitting clud ng intermediate lammations formed of remembers each adapted to be secured upon a gap. slllent deformable material and outer aw-enarate one of said shafts, each of said coupling gaging lamlnatlons folmed of hard Substantially members comprising a plurality of longitudinally n n-defo m materlal each Dower transmltextending Jaws adapted to mtermesh loosely with 1mg b r be hg free to move b d y 0n the the jaws of the other coupling member, and a faces 01 the l With Whlch It Contacts plurality of power transmitting members each 6 The combination in a coupling for connec interposed between two Jaws earned by oppoupon a separate one of said shafts, each of said bonded to each other as to produce a fix d coupling members comprising a p ral of 10114 anchorage of the deformable laminations over gitudinally extending aws adapted to intermesh then power transmltgmg surfa wlth the loosely with the aws of the other coupllng memtavctmg nomdaromnable lammatmns, each f sand her, and a l r y of power n m n m power transmitting members being capable of s a h e po d between tWO J earned by moving bodily on the faces of the Jaws with which opposite coupling members, said power transm1tit t m ting members being formed of laminations includ 9, Th mbination in a coupling for connectingsomelaminations formed ofrubber compounds jng b t ti ll aligned shafts and permitting by a ynth t res n While under COmDIBSSiOIiL separate one of said. shafts, each of said coupling with which it contacts. he aws of the other coupling member, and a 7. The combination in a coupling for connectplurality of power transmitting members each mg substantially aligned shafts, of a pa r f co l- 3 interposed between two Jaws carried by opposite Dl m mbers each adapted to be secured upon coupllng members, each of said power transmita separate one of said shafts, each of said couting members being made up of a plurality of plmg members comprlslng a plurality of longitudeformable and non-deformable laminations so loosely with the jaws of the other coupling mem anchorage of the deform-able laminations over power transmitting surfaces said laminations mmittmg members being of greater normal th1ck eluding intermediate lammations formed of resilness than the distance between opposite Jaws enlent, deformable material and outer Jaw-engagga'ged thereby so that the member 1s under commg laminations formed of hard, substantially inpr ssion when here s no lo d on he couplin compressible material, said outer jaw-engaging 5O laminations of each power transmitting member LOUIS RICEFIELD- 

